Mineichi Koga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Koga Mineichi | |
|---|---|
| 25 September 1885 – 31 March 1944) | |
| Place of birth | Saga, Japan |
| Place of death | Davao, Philippines |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Years of service | 1906–1944 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Mineichi Koga (古賀峯一 Koga Mineichi ?) (25 September 1885 - 31 March 1944) was a Japanese fleet admiral and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Born in Saga prefecture, Koga entered the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and graduated in 1906. After further attendance at the Naval Staff College, Koga he held shore staff posting following his graduation in 1915. In 1920, seeing no action during World War I, Koga became a resident officer in France. Promoted to captain on 1 December 1926, Koga served as a naval attaché in Paris until 1 November 1928.
Recalled to Japan in 1930 and being given command of the Yokosuka Naval Station, Koga captained the heavy cruiser Aoba from 31 December 1930, and the battleship Ise from 31 December 1931, until his appointment to rear admiral on 31 December 1932 and transfer to be Chief of the Navy General Staff's Intelligence Division in 1933. Koga became Vice Chief of the Naval General Staff and promoted to vice admiral on 31 December 1936 shortly before the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.
Commander of the IJN 2nd Fleet in 1939, Koga was placed in command of the China Area Fleet on 1 September 1941 and commanded naval operations during the capture of Hong Kong from 9 December-31 1941. Following the death of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku on 19 April 1943, Koga succeeded Yamamoto as commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This flagship was the battleship Musashi.
Hoping to throw American forces on the defensive, Koga sought to lure the American fleet into a major naval engagement in 1943. However, the losses of Japan's land and carrier based aircraft based in the Central Pacific eventually forced a Japanese withdrawal from the Gilbert Islands and Philippines by the end of the year. With Japanese forces on the run in the spring of 1944, Koga was killed when his plane crashed during a typhoon in a flight between Palau and Davao while overseeing the withdrawal of the Combined Fleet from its Cebu headquarters on 31 March 1944. His death was not announced until May 1944 when he was replaced to Admiral Soemu Toyoda. Koga was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet posthumously.
